Of Yule Balls and Kisses
by caughtinblackseyes
Summary: Cedric overhears Hermione and Ron fighting at the Yule Ball and decides to see of he can help. [cedric x hermione] Each chapter is a now a meeting between Cedric & Hermione throughout their 4th year/Goblet of Fire
1. Of Yule Balls and Kisses

**Just a bit of fluff between out favorite Hufflepuff Hottie and Smartest Witch of Her Age. I am working on the next chapter of Something About Hermione, but this was just begging to be written. Enjoy!**

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Of Yule Balls and Kisses

If Cedric had a galleon for every time Weasley made an arse of himself, he'd be wealthier than the Malfoys. A mixture of sympathy and anger coursed through him as he inadvertently became a spectator to the heated exchange between the red-head and the young woman currently crying on the stairs. Potter had just stood there fidgeting awkwardly, but ended up following Weasley when the other boy had stomped off. Cedric sighed. Clearly, he'd been giving Potter far too much credit. Otherwise, he would have cut his friend off, and made it clear that Granger was doing nothing wrong and certainly _wasn't_ 'fraternizing with the enemy'.

Krum was a decent bloke. Cedric had conversed with him on numerous topics and while there had been a language barrier, they'd managed quite nicely. They had developed a friendship of sorts after the older wizard had approached him and asked his advice on how best to ask a witch to the Yule Ball. It was a move that had surprised Cedric until Krum had haltingly explained that his quidditch schedule had not allowed much of a chance to date and that he'd kept interactions with most females at a minimum, because he attracted the type of witches he had no interest in dating. Krum had been polite about it, but Cedric knew that the type of witches he was referring to were hangers-on and groupies, so he didn't blamIfe Krum in the least for not consorting with them. Fact was, Cedric admired him for it.

So, Cedric had done the best he could by the internationally famous Seeker, and went about educating Krum on the way that had worked for him when he'd asked Cho. Of course, he'd switched it up a bit because girls tended to compare notes on such things and it wouldn't due to discover that their invitation wasn't as special as they had thought. Over the years, Cedric had become well-versed in how the convoluted mind of females worked. Krum had walked away with a seldom-seen grin after their talk, and they'd been tentative friends ever since.

It had been quite the surprise – to everyone – when Granger, looking like vision in her periwinkle dress, floated down the stairs with a shy, but pleased smile and took the arm of Viktor Krum. Even the most sophisticated Pure-blood bigot stopped what they were doing and gaped as the couple glided into their spot. Not that the couple in question noticed this strange event. Krum only had eyes for Granger and she just blushed prettily while looking down at either her shoes or at her date.

Everyone knew that Granger was brilliant, but it seemed as if few – or no one other than Krum – realized that a stunning witch lay beyond that bookish exterior. Her frizzy curls had been sleeked into a few perfect ringlets which framed a face with the bare minimum of make-up enhancing large, glowing topaz eyes. The rest of her hair had been pulled up and back into a loose French twist, exposing creamy shoulders and a delicately hollowed throat. The neckline hinted at a shadowed cleft, while the material clung to her small, but well-proportioned breasts. With her curves encased so enticingly, her waist appeared narrow by comparison, leading the eye downward to slightly flared hips. Cedric didn't think he'd ever seem Granger on something that form-fitting. Ever. It was criminal that such an intelligent and lovely witch was now crying her eyes out, her evening ruined by that freckled twit.

Without really thinking it through, Cedric approached her just as she was pulling her heels from her slender feet, and rested her head on upraised knees. He crouched down beside her tiny form, face turned away from him, her slender shoulders heaved every so often giving Cedric the impression that she was still crying though not as heavily as before. Now that he was here, Cedric wasn't sure what his next step should be.

"Hey," he whispered, "you okay there, Granger?" He could tell that he'd startled her when she jerked up and swiveled toward him. "Sorry," he went on, hands hovering in a gesture of 'it's all good, I come in peace'. "I couldn't help but notice that you seemed distressed."

Cedric noticed other things now too. Like, even though her face was streaked with drying tears and the skin was mottled from excessive crying, it didn't detract from the fact that it was smooth and clear of blemish. It looked soft too, like her hair. Those dark eyes of hers were surrounded by thick moisture-laden lashes and filled with a combination of hurt and curiosity. She was biting the corner of her bottom lip, blood filling the area with a becoming shade of cherry. This close up, he could see that her curls were pulled off her face with stunning jeweled combs which strangely enough, were fashioned into the likeness of a double-headed eagle.

"I'm okay," she whispered back, lips trembling. He sat beside her, close enough to catch a slight waft of jasmine-scented perfume, but not too close. Cedric had barely said more than two words to her for the entire four years she'd been at Hogwarts, so being pressed thigh-to-thigh would be inappropriate, not to mention, odd. "There's no need to stay. I'm sure you'll want to get back to Cho."

Cedric gave a small shrug, and said with a wry twist to his lips, "Her gaggle of friends whisked her off which means, they're somewhere giggling and trading stories about their evening and the blokes who escorted them. I doubt she'll be back." Glancing around at the very few students still milling about, he asked, "What about Krum? Where'd he disappear to?"

Hermione let out a snort before saying derisively, "His Headmaster took him back to the ship. He claimed that Viktor needed to rest, but honestly, I think he was upset that Viktor was telling me so much about his school. The man is a nutter when it comes to keeping the schools secrets."

Cedric laughed. "He's certainly got an odd way about him. Krum's decent enough although I can't imagine he'd leave his pretty partner to fend for herself."

"Oh, he didn't want to go," Hermione defended, voice firm with a very direct gaze that was daring him to say anything nasty about the Seeker. Cedric liked that she'd come to Krum's defense and that fire in her eyes… well, it was really something. "Viktor insisted that he walk me to the common room first, but his Headmaster was making quite the scene and to save me from further embarrassment, Viktor went back with him."

Resting his arms on his bent knee, Cedric mused, "You looked to be having fun. So when I saw you here crying, I knew something dreadful must have happened." Hermione's face fell. "Truth be told, I heard what Weasley said to you, and he was way out of line."

"He was an out-and-out twat!" Hermione bit out fiercely. "How could he say those asinine things to me? _Me_! He's supposed to be my friend! Friends do not treat each other like that!"

Shrugging, Cedric answered quietly, "He's jealous."

Granger's look of unadulterated surprised skepticism was as ridiculous as it was sweet. She genuinely had no idea how attractive she was and that she'd been the undisputed bell of this particular ball. Countless wizards had been keen on dancing with her (including himself), but Krum hardly left her side, not letting anyone near enough to even ask. The selfish git.

"He had his chance," Hermione retorted. "He waited until I was his very _last_ resort, and then he asked. If you call it asking by saying, "'Oi, Hermione, you're a girl. It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone but for a girl, it's just sad.'"

"He didn't," Cedric breathed, eyes incredulous. Merlin's beard! Weasley _really_ was an arse-wipe! "That's awful! Don't cry," Cedric insisted, noticing the tears welling up again, exclaiming stridently, "He bloody well isn't worth it!"

"I know," she sniffed. "But you heard the awful things he said to me and it ruined _everything_ , and I was having such a lovely time of it." Throwing her hands up in the air, she went on, exasperated, "Between Ron's accusations and Headmaster Karkaroff dragging Viktor away when I knew he'd been planning on kis..." Granger broke off abruptly, a lovely shade of crimson climbing high on her peaches and cream bone structure.

"Ahhh," Cedric whispered with a knowing smile. Nudging her lightly with his elbow, he gently prodded, "You were looking forward to that goodnight kiss?"

Cedric didn't think it was possible for anyone to blush even more, but Granger managed it, ducking her head while giving a slight nod. Peeking up at him, she informed him shyly, "It was going to be my first."

"That's a big deal," Cedric confirmed, repressed laughter brimming in his eyes.

"Oh, you!" Then she surprised him by slapping him up alongside his head, a move he'd seen her perfect on Weasley and Potter. As if realizing she might have crossed a line, she let out a gasp, covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled, "I'm so sorry. That was really rude of me."

"No worries," he chuckled. "I probably deserved it for teasing you." Sighing, he mentioned soulfully, "I didn't get my goodnight kiss either, if that makes you feel a bit better."

"Cho left without a kiss," Granger squeaked and the disbelief written all over her face was extraordinarily gratifying. "Is she daft?!"

Cedric could feel himself flushing and coyly asked, "Do _you_ think she was daft?"

Granger grunted inelegantly. "If you think that I'm going to sit here and feed your ego, Cedric Diggory, you can just think again."

Cedric's bottom lip pushed out into a pout of feigned disappointment, clutching his chest he cried out in mock pain, "You wound me, Granger! This sting of agony will never subside. I will go through life with a massive hole in my chest at your refusal to declare to all of my staggeringly brilliant, boyish charm and uncommon, indubitable good looks."

Her giggles were like music to his ears. Those shining brown orbs stared up into his own and suddenly Cedric was struck with an idea. It was probably all sorts of wrong, and he dismissed it almost as soon as it had formed. But, when she tilted her head to the side and a beautifully warm, wide smile appeared on her appealing face, he changed his mind and decided to go for it.

"I was thinking," he began slowly, giving her a contemplative look. "Maybe, maybe it wouldn't have to be a total loss." Her smooth forehead furrowed in confusion. "I mean… you know, maybe you and me could end the night in the way we both thought it would end."

Cedric saw the exact moment when Granger caught on to his meaning. Her finely arched brows disappeared into her hairline, warm color rose from the white slopes of her breast and didn't stop climbing until the lobes of her perfectly formed ears were pink and then her lush lips formed a wide O of astonishment. It was adorable. _She_ was adorable.

"I… I don't know," she stuttered, looking all kinds of flustered. "Aren't you dating Cho? It wouldn't be right, if you were and then there's Viktor to consider." Granger was top-notch, Cedric thought, admiring her scruples. As far as he was concerned, he could lay those fears to rest.

"We're not dating," he declared truthfully. "I mean, we've snogged a bit but that's as far as it went. I was interested in her when I asked her to the ball, but we decided pretty early on that it wasn't what either of us actually wanted. We decided to go to the ball together anyway, because being with her kept all the other girls at bay. Don't get me wrong, I was still really looking forward to that goodnight kiss. Not to be ungentlemanly, but Cho's quite good at it. Potter's in for a treat."

"You know about that," Granger queried, then answered her own question. "Of course you do. Anyone with half a brain can see how gone Harry is on Cho. He did ask her to the dance, but she'd already said yes to you."

"I know," Cedric replied, grinning. "Cho told me about it. She was so disappointed at having to tell him no, that I offered to let her off the hook so she could accept his invitation, but she wouldn't hear of it. She said, that I needed her protection against all those other witches and their nefarious intentions."

"That was good of her," Granger commended genuinely. Biting her lip, she added, "Viktor is very sweet and he's smarter than what people give him credit for because all they see is the Quidditch star. It's a very narrow perception because there's much more to him than that. It's one of the reasons he asked me to go with him. I didn't chase him or follow him all over Hogwarts, and I wasn't remotely dazzled by his fame or his fortune."

Cedric was well aware that Krum had a multitude of unsung attributes other than his talent and skill on a broom. They really did have great conversations while Cedric was 'tutoring' him on how to ask this sweet and pretty witch to the ball. Course, he hadn't known it was Granger at the time. Not that it would have made any difference, Cedric still would have helped Krum because he was a decent enough bloke.

"He's quite wonderful," Hermione admitted and Cedric's heart sank. This was it then, he wasn't going to be kissing Granger after all. He was surprised by how disappointed he felt. "I've already told him that we can't be anything more than friends. There are several insurmountable obstacles which, in the times we live now…. Well, it isn't conducive for anything other than friendship." And, just like that, Cedric's hopes began to upswing. "Still, I was expecting him to be my first kiss. I mean, he did ask earlier if he could kiss me at the end of the evening and I said, yes."

"I understand," Cedric conceded, and they weren't just empty words. He did understand. Granger had promised her first kiss to Krum and that is exactly who was going to get it. She was a woman who stuck by her principles and her promises. "Let me walk you back to your common room." He stood and held his hand out to the young witch staring up at him and wondered how in the world had he missed Hermione Granger's immense charm. "It's the least that I can do after keeping you up so late."

She didn't put her dainty shoes back on, instead they dangled from her fingers as she slid her other palm into his. Cedric couldn't help but think how right and natural it felt as he helped her to her feet. They chatted amiably as they strolled through the corridors, in no great hurry to reach her destination, arms swinging in unison and neither thought it strange that he held her hand in a light, but strong grip the entire way there.


	2. Of Prefects and Baths

**Several people have asked for a continuation for Of Yule Balls and Kisses, so here it is. This is not beta'd and I own nothing.**

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Chapter 1

Cedric could hardly believe his eyes. Peering through the heated mist he saw the small form of Hermione Granger slipping through the door of the Prefects bath bearing what could only be Harry Potter's golden egg. Closing the door, she pulled her wand from some unknown place – only Godric knew from where, considering she was wearing a Muggle T-shirt and a pair of sleeping shorts that barely covered her form from the waist down – turning she whispered quietly, then Cedric heard the lock click.

He took a moment to run his eyes up and down the body now slightly off to the side from where he was. Her bum was pleasantly rounded, riding high above legs that weren't long but were nicely formed. Slender thighs led down to toned calves and when she turned fully back toward him, he saw a pair of pretty feet. The cleanly trimmed nails of one was surprisingly coated with a metallic gold nail polish while the other well-formed foot's nails was a metallic red. Ever the Gryffindor, Cedric thought with amusement.

She was taking in the room with wide, near reverent eyes. Cedric chuckled. He imagined his own face had carried a similar expression when he'd entered the room for the first time. She must have heard him because her wildly curling-haired head swiveled in his direction. Cedric held absolutely still, inhaling slightly and holding the breath as if doing both of these things would somehow render him invisible. Granger leaned forward, eyes narrowed in concentration. Quietly and slowly, Cedric lowered himself further into the scented water, chin and mouth dipping below the surface.

She glanced around for a few more minutes, then seemingly satisfied, she strolled over to where several towels were lined up, grabbing two before heading near the edge of the pool-sized bath. Instead of picking that particular area to enter the pool, Granger stopped a moment, nibbled on that wonderfully full lower lip of hers before abandoning that space as a way into the bath. She walked quickly around to the side, periodically glancing down. Only when she was near where he was still floating, did he realize that she was searching for an area with a bench riding in the water.

The bath had built-in benches around three quarters of the edge, hence all that looking down into the water business. As fate would have it, the beginnings of the bench just happened to be where he was floating, trying to remain hidden. And, if he knew Granger, which he sorta did, she wasn't going to waste time and the moment she could ascertain there was a bench would be the moment that she would stop and drop into the bath.

She was much closer now, and the humidity in the room had turned her mass of hair into riotous, tight curls which hugged her head framing her pretty little features made a becoming shade of pink by the heat. Then, he noticed that the rest of her massive mane was pulled back into a tight plait. Cedric thought it a shame to confine such lovely, unrestrained gloriousness. Because the air was damp, her sleeveless T-shirt clung to her breasts and hips, and while Cedric had seem plenty of her enticing figure at the Yule Ball, he felt pang of guilt for perving on her here in the bath. This was a much more intimate space. A bathing area was an unspoken sacrosanct location and he should have announced his presence when she first came into the room. He really was a dunce!

Granger was dipping a toe in the water, when Cedric finally decided to let her in on the fact that she wasn't alone. He was all set to make a coughing noise, but the sound died in his throat when Granger plopped down into the water. The splash which ensued, drenched her top, making it translucent and Cedric _really_ tried to avert his gaze. _Really_ tried _._

He was held spellbound as she climbed onto the bench making him even more aware of her delightful near-nakedness. He could plainly see her breasts through the clinging, inadequate cloth. He felt his body react to those lovely curves and only the thought of Professor Pomfrey in a nightgown kept him from an embarrassing state of arousal.

Cedric thought back to the night of the Yule Ball and how pretty she'd looked and how desperately he'd wanted to kiss her despite knowing she'd been Krum's date. How they'd walked back to her common room in unforced companionable silence when they weren't talking on subjects of interest. Surprisingly, they had similar tastes in books and he'd been fascinated by her stories on picture shows in the Muggle world. He hadn't even attempted broaching the subject of Quidditch already keenly aware she had no interest in that particular topic.

What had first drew him to Cho was her amazing abilities of being Seeker for her house. But, in all honesty, they'd had very little to discuss beyond the game they both loved. For awhile, he'd held on because he was also drawn to intelligent witches, and Cho was certainly that. Still, it didn't take him long to come to the realization that while she was intelligent and absorbed facts like a sponge, she had a spoon-fed sort of smarts. She didn't think beyond the application of those facts; she learned for learning sake and nothing more.

During that short walk back to Granger's common room, he'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that while she was also very intelligent, she tended to take her knowledge to the next level. She took the information fed to her and then came up with ideas on how to improve or add onto it. Her ideas were inventive and made him think; she challenged him and he found it both fun and illuminating as they playfully argued on certain applications of what they were being taught. She appealed to both his mind and his body in a way, for all her exotic beauty, Cho hadn't.

Granger was looking at the egg with a mixture of expectation and confusion her, brow scrunched up in concentration. He aught to make his presence known, it was long overdue. He gave a small splash which alerted her that she was not alone. Her head spun in his direction eyes widening in slightly panicked realization as her gaze fixed firmly on his own. Simultaneously he pulled himself onto the bench while she lowered herself further into the water in order to maintain some sort of modesty.

"What are you doing here," she demanded, face pink with embarrassment.

One brow rose high on his forehead at her slightly idiotic question, rightly assuming it had come out without thought due to the awkward situation. "Taking a bath," Cedric informed her casually as if it was a frequent event being disturbed by unexpected company.

Hermione's eyes traveled over his slick torso, eyes widening even further (surprisingly possible), when she finally cottoned on that he was nude beneath the ample bubbles. Her pretty, startled brown eyes, slammed tightly closed as she asked in exasperation, "Why didn't you shout out or something when I came into the room?"

Now it was Cedric's turn for his face to take on a crimson caste. Grabbing the Hungarian Horntail by the horns, he inquired, "Would you prefer an honest answer or a slightly honest answer?"

Her full lips pulled into a delectable moue making Cedric desperate to taste them. "An honest one, of course." Sounding a bit tart.

"Okay, but keep in mind, Granger that you asked for it," Cedric reminded her solemnly.

She gave a slight nod. "Well, at first your entrance took me by surprise. Then, I was taken off balance by how lovely you looked in just your sleep garments." That moue of hers fell open in surprise. Continuing on, he informed her honestly, "By the time it occurred to me to notify you of my presence, you dropped into the water and I was held spellbound by how the water made your top absolutely sheer and clung to your breasts leaving me temporarily speechless."

Granger's arms immediately crossed protectively over said breasts, letting out a huff of outrage. "A gentleman wouldn't have looked!"

Shrugging, even though she couldn't see it, he stated firmly, "First of all, you did ask for the truth and secondly, when have I ever professed to being a gentleman?"

Hermione crossly exclaimed. "You are a Prefect which is an honorable title with honorable and honest actions implied by that title!"

Cedric snorted. Hermione's frown deepened. "Listen Granger, before I was a Prefect I was a bloke. A bloke with hormones that can be set off by seeing an attractive female. So, while I do honor my Prefect duties, I am not going to apologize for a perfectly normal bodily response to your fine figure."

Cedric was amused when Granger reached out blindly with one arm, pulling a massive wave of bubbles toward her, effectively covering her from chest to chin. "Are you decent," she asked.

"I'm sitting on the bench, as you very well know, and while I am naked, also as you very well know, my manly bits are suitably covered by a vast array of strategically placed bubbles." Granger peeked at him out of one eye. Seeing he spoke the truth, she opened the other, glaring at him for all she was worth.

Before she could say anything more, Cedric informed her reasonably, "There's no need for you to be giving me the stink-eye, Granger. You interrupted my bath, not the other way around." She paled slightly when he added, "On top of that, you are out well after curfew and as an 'honorable' Prefect, I should be taking points along with informing your Head of House."

When she opened her mouth to reply, Cedric held his hand up silencing her and said, "I'm not going to because I can see you're here to give Potter a bit of help with his egg. Just don't open the blasted thing because I'm in no mood to be listening to that outrageous caterwauling."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "That really was awful, wasn't it?" Cedric grimaced in agreement. "Sorry for rushing in here like I did. I should have made certain no one else would be around. Harry told me you gave him the hint of taking the egg to the bath and the password to this amazing room. Thank you for that. I felt I should get right to it since Harry's in detention all week and Merlin knows he's waited long enough to try and figure this thing out."

Cedric grinned. She really was a bossy little thing and her exasperation at her friend was quite adorable. Cedric admired her allegiance to Potter considering many refuted him at the onset of his name popping out of the Goblet. Even people in his own House. Even his best mate, Not Granger though. She'd stuck by him. Cedric had been ashamed of the way the members of his own House had treated the younger boy and had put a quick end to those horrible badges and nasty comments.

"I suppose," Granger began slowly. "I should maybe put the egg _in_ the water." It was phrased as a question as was the look she shot at him through the fall of her thick, dark lashes.

Cedric reckoned that he'd helped Potter plenty, and if it had been him sitting here instead of Granger, he probably wouldn't have verified that statement. Since it was Granger, he gave a miniscule nod of his head which had her sending him a blinding grin that had Cedric's heart ticking up several beats. Merlin's beard; she was beautiful!

Making her even more attractive was the fact that she clearly was oblivious to her own innate charms. In all probability, Krum was making sure that Granger was tapping into that unexplored aspect of herself. Frowning, Cedric couldn't help but wish it was he instead of Krum bringing about this awareness.

Granger was getting ready to dive under the water, egg in hand, when she stopped in mid-taking-of-a-deep-breath and asked tremulously, "You won't look under the water after I've gone down, will you?"

His first instinct was to tease her, but the truly vulnerable look in her eyes made him gently say, "Of course not, Granger but if you don't want an accidental glimpse of my manly bits, you should probably turn around before diving under."

Bright streaks of mortification cut across the lovely bone structure of her face before she spun around and dove under the scented water. Her prettily rounded arse broke the surface giving him a split second to admire the pert contours before she kicked out and disappeared. She wasn't gone long, shooting up in a stream of water which glided down her upper body, his eyes avidly taking in the round fullness of her chest with their rose-pink nipples clearly visible. Cedric quickly averted his gaze. It felt wrong perving on her like this, but at the same time it felt right too. He really needed to get himself together!

Wiping the excess water off of her face, Granger gave him an intense stare before saying with confidence, "The Black Lake, then." He smiled. "I take it that Merpeople inhabit the lake." Cedric's smile grew. "Right. Well, clearly something will be taken and the champions will have to retrieve it within an hour time frame."

"Spot on, Granger." Cedric praised her deductions.

Hermione pulled herself up onto the bench saying thoughtfully, "Now what in the world could they take from you all of great value? And how in the world am I going to be able to help Harry prepare for this task? Obviously, we'll have to find a way for him to breath under water for an hour or more."

Biting her lip in a way that brought his focus to their plump, kissable shape distracted him from hearing what she said next. Only her strident calling of his name, brought him back to the conversation at hand. "Sorry there, Granger. What was that?"

"I _said_ , I suppose it's absolutely out of the question for you to teach me the bubble-head charm."

She looked so delightfully earnest. He really shouldn't help Potter get a leg up, but apparently he held a hell of a soft spot for his best female friend. Apropos of nothing, Cedric asked, "How was that first kiss with Krum?"

"Excuse me," she countered with a baffled expression.

Determined, he continued, "I was wondering how that went off for you."

Granger stared steadily at the quickly diminishing bubbles in front of her then quietly asked, "Does me answering determine whether or not you teach me the bubble-head charm?"

Cedric felt an overwhelming rush of shame. It really was none of his concern and he definitely hadn't planned on blackmailing her into divulging the information. Thing was, he really did want to know. He momentarily wrestled with his genuine desire to find out versus taking the high road of minding his own business.

Sighing, he answered, "No, of course not. I was curious is all. I'd been wondering about it since the Yule Ball, but I shouldn't have asked regardless. It was rude of me, I'm sorry."

Still not meeting his eyes, Granger said with a small smile, "It was nice. I mean, I have nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed it. A lot."

Cedric was honestly disappointed with her revelation. Well, he had asked, so he should have been prepared for her answer. He'd been hoping that it might have been clumsy and awkward. He should have known better. Krum, more than likely, had ample opportunity to perfect his snogging technique. One couldn't reach the age of eighteen and be a world renowned Seeker without having snogged quite a few girls.

"Would you like to," Cedric asked before giving it proper thought. That made Granger's head shoot up, mouth hanging open in surprise. Blushing underneath her intense stare, he added with a nonchalant shrug, "Have something to compare it to, I mean."

"I understood," she assured him, still appearing surprised. "I don't think this is a proper place considering your still naked and I still have my night clothes clinging to me like a second skin leaving nothing to the imagination."

"True," he answered with a slight tilt to his head. "Perhaps if we keep a mountain of bubbles between us we can keep from inadvertently touching bodies or seeing anything that you don't want seen."

He could tell that she was giving it some serious thought which was a pleasant, albeit, complete amazing result. He hadn't really expected her to entertain the notion whatsoever; she was such a demure and proper little thing.

"I suppose," she began sounding uncertain. "If we have ample bubbles, it would be all right."

"Come closer," Cedric invited with an encouraging smile. He was hard-pressed to keep a huge grin at bay, scarcely believing his own good fortune.

She made her way to where he sat. Holding his hand out, he helped her climb onto the bench, keeping a respectable distance; he didn't want to scare her off. Reaching behind, he gripped his wand, waving it over the water. Voluminous bubbles in various shades grew between them. She looked must more relaxed with the extra coverage although he detected a glint of trepidation in her caramel colored eyes.

"I'm going to lean forward," he informed clinically, realizing this would be the best approach since Granger enjoyed learning new things. "I might even place my hand on your face or neck for leverage. Will that be acceptable to you."

Granger nodded, her breathing noticeably quickened which Cedric took as a good sign. She didn't close her eyes as he expected when he moved closer although they dilated darkly. The first touch of his lips against hers was gentle, almost timid until he felt hers soften. He took that as a sign to press more firmly, but refrained from being intrusive. The object was to slowly beguile a response and if she gave silent consent, to then take it to the next level.

When is hand came up to lightly cup the side of her face, her eyes fell shut. He continued to move his mouth over hers in barely there caresses, his thumb grazing back and forth against the softness of her skin. After a bit, his thumb applied the slightest push and pull to her jawline, and as her mouth opened slightly, he turned his attentions to her upper lip; sucking it gently between his before doing the same to the plushness of her quivering lower lip. Her sudden reciprocation of his actions, thrilled him. Her mouth was clinging and releasing in tandem with his, dancing and discovering in the most delightful manner.

It took all he had in him to lean back slightly and whisper against her parted mouth, "Okay?"

"Yes," she whispered back, before palming his neck and pulling him back in, proceeding to mold their mouths together in delicious friction.

Tilting her head slightly, Cedric moved beyond their testing and teasing, sealing his mouth completely over hers, he deepened the kiss. Gods, her response was leaving him breathless. He became more urgent, his lips abandoning all pretense of tenderness to replace it with a burgeoning hunger. She was matching his intensity, moaning in a way that went straight to his groin. The need for air broke them apart, her forehead rested against his own; both breathing and panting heavily.

His lips brushed over the silkiness of her high cheekbone, ghosting down the side of her face, brushing briefly against the lobe of her ear to settle at the sensitive spot just behind; tongue flicking out to sample the sensitive skin.

"Oh," she gasped, grabbing at his shoulders, moving her head back to better allow him to continue, which he did with relish.

"You taste like cinnamon and vanilla," Cedric groaned, lightly biting at her fragrant flesh, sucking and pulling until she was writhing against him.

He had no clue as to when they breached their fragile wall of propriety, but he wasn't about to complain. Tight, turgid nipples were flattened against his chest, tiny points grazing enticingly making him shift and shake on the bench. When she fisted handfuls of his hair and yanked with just the right amount of force, he abandoned the space at her neck and latched revenously onto her mouth, tongue shooting out to brush hers with firm assurance.

The needy mewling noises she was making were driving him wild! Restless hands roved over the slim lines of her back as their tongues entwined in magical madness. If he had known how desperate his own moaning and groaning actually were, he would have been embarrassed. As it was, his sole focus was on this woman wantonly melting in his arms, as desperate for him as he was for her.

A girlish voice broke through their passion. "Ooooooo… isn't this interesting. This is much more entertaining than watching Cedric bathe alone!" Granger jumped back as if struck by lightening, her glorious features twisted in shock and dismay. "Don't stop now," Myrtle implored. "Things were moving along splendidly."

With a small, dismayed cry, Hermione climbed out of the pool. Cedric made a belated attempt to stop her, but she was far too fast and was already across the room, not caring that she was woefully near-naked. "Granger, wait. I'm sorry..."

His apology was cut short and went unacknowledged as she unlocked the door and shot through it as if the hounds of hell were gnawing at her heels, leaving him hard and aching which was the least of his worries. What had he done?

"Shite," he exclaimed, closing his eyes, disgusted with himself.

"Sorry," Myrtle chimed in sing-song fashion, clearly _not_ sorry. When she got no reaction, she grew bored and decided to check the toilet pipes for anything of value.

Cedric sat in the bath until the water ran cool and all the soap suds disappeared, chiding himself and wondering how the hell he was going to fix this.

* * *

 **Please let me know if you enjoyed this.**


	3. Of Bruises and Beginnings

**Of Bruises and Beginnings**

Hermione examined herself in the mirror tsking in irritation at the obvious bruise marking her slender, otherwise unblemished neck. A hickey. Cedric Diggory had given _her_ a hickey! She was angry at him for marking her, but found herself flushing in remembered pleasure at how it had gotten there. A hot blush crawled up her face, bringing a lively sparkle to her brown, semi-embarrassed eyes. Gingerly, she pressed a finger against the offending bruise noting that she felt no tenderness beneath the sinful looking multicolored mass.

Cedric Diggory had kissed her, she ruminated in wonder. Repeatedly. When he'd suggested it at the Yule Ball, Hermione hadn't taken him all that seriously. She couldn't deny an overwhelming curiosity, thinking on it over and over again long after the Ball. She'd convinced herself that Hufflepuff's finest had only wanted to cheer her up after overhearing the argument she'd had with Ronald. She was still quite angry at the other boy and had been giving him the silent treatment much to the red-heads dismay who continued to walk around as if _she_ was treating him unfairly and not the other way around.

Without Diggory's intervention, Hermione's entire night would have been ruined. Why that prat Ronald's opinion had mattered so much, was no longer relevant. Yes, she had harbored a bit of a crush on him, but he'd stamped that out completely with his nastiness and rude behavior. He had a habit of treating her badly and she was over it. Done.

As her thoughts turned to Viktor, Hermione felt of stab of guilt. Even though they had decided on a friendship-based relationship, she couldn't shake a sense of betrayal on his behalf. He'd made it clear that he would have much rather they be more to each other, but considering the world they lived in at the moment, it would have been madness. Even if there hadn't been the threat of a war hanging over them, she wasn't sure that she would have encouraged a more intimate relationship. Perhaps, if things hadn't gotten so heated with Diggory, she might have been persuaded otherwise.

The day after the Ball, Viktor sought her out in the library requesting that she accompany him on a walk by the Black Lake. She had accepted of course because she knew that he was planning on following through with her first kiss. Which he did, and it had been a lovely introduction to such things. He'd been gentle and sweet taking into account her inexperience. His large, calloused hands hadn't roamed, holding her firmly yet delicately by her face. His lips had been warm with repressed passion that he had been clearly keeping on a short leash. Perhaps if he had let that leash loose a bit, Diggory's passion-filled kisses wouldn't have made such a stunning contrast in comparison.

Biting her lip in consternation, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what she should do now. Ignoring the incident with Diggory seemed to be the best option. Her priority was Harry and seeing him through this dangerous competition and _not_ mooning over the other Hogwarts' champion. Still, the way she had responded to his touch had been difficult to dismiss. She hadn't reacted to it as if she were an unfolded flower of innocence. Pressing hands to warm cheeks, she recalled quite easily that he had kissed her as if he'd been driven to impress all of himself into her and she had responded in kind.

He hadn't done anything that had frightened her. Truth was, the only thing that _had_ frightened her was her immediate out of control reciprocation. It hadn't been anything like that with Viktor and as far as she could tell, he was skilled in the art of snogging. Hermione had enjoyed his kisses and had kissed him back lingeringly, but it hadn't been the fiery inferno she'd unexpectedly shared with Diggory. But that hadn't been the worst of things. Bad enough she'd been kissing Diggory, but she'd been kissing him in the Prefects bath and he had been starkers. _Starkers_! She wasn't the sort of girl to let a naked boy do what Diggory had done. Was she? No. She didn't think so and yet she had. It was most confusing. Glancing at herself once more, Hermione was disturbed to see her reflection sporting a self-satisfied smirk and a distressing awareness in those eyes reflecting back at her.

Annoyed, Hermione proclaimed, "There's no need for that, you know. It was just one of those things. It isn't as if it's going to happen again." Reflection Hermione's smirk grew. Stamping her foot, Hermione declared forcefully, "We don't even have the same classes or friends. We'll probably not even run into each other. It was a one-off." Reflection Hermione gave a negligent shrug of one shoulder. "Oh, sod off!" Hermione ground out angrily, stomping over to her bed and throwing herself on top of it.

She hadn't been lying there fuming long before the door to the dorm-room opened admitting a gigging Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Hermione had just enough time to pull a swath of curls over her neck seconds before both girls noticed her and immediately stopped laughing, but Hermione was almost certain that she caught Ron's name in the midst of their whispered conversation. For a moment they both just looked at her lying on her bed, arms crossed over her chest, eyes staring straight up into the canopy above.

Finally, Parvati asked, "You okay, Hermione?" Hermione gave a brief nod not wishing to engage in trite conversation with these two silly girls. Sighing, Parvati added, "Good. Me and Lavender are going to flip through some Muggle fashion magazines and hang out here. By the way, you missed breakfast."

Hermione mumbled. "I wanted a bit of a lie-in. I'll catch a snack to tide me over until lunch. Ron usually has extra food about." Not that he would share it with her at this point, but the two girls standing in the doorway didn't need to know that.

Feeling generous, Parvati added, "Would you like to join us?" Ignoring the annoyed expression on Lavender's face, she continued, "We can spread the magazines out so that we can all look at them."

"Thank you for asking, it's very nice of you," Hermione mumbled, surprised by the invitation while simultaneously feeling bad for thinking Parvati was as silly as Lavender. "I think I'll have a quick shower instead."

So saying, Hermione got up and fetched a towel and wash cloth along with comfy sweatpants and T-shirt not giving a shite that they were Muggle clothes. It was a blasted week-end and she'd wear whatever she felt like wearing. As she crossed the room, she was careful to keep her unmanageable mane forward over her shoulders in effect maintaining the coverage she needed to hide the mark.

Parvati watched her go with a frown. Lavender was already sprawled out on her bed flipping through the pages of the glossy covered magazine. Plopping down beside her friend, Parvati mentioned thoughtfully, "Somethings up with Hermione." Lavender gave a non-committal hum. Parvati elbowed her friend and said, "Listen, it has to be something big because she wasn't up at the break of dawn, she missed breakfast and she hasn't already been in the library for two or so hours."

"Why are you so worried," Lavender murmured, still eyeing this year's fashions with longing and a deep, distraught sigh. "Honestly, when have either of us noticed her? Yea she's brainy, but she's nothing really special or worth thinking over besides her brains." Then she added with an excited, yet jealous tilt to her tone, "Other than getting to hang around with Ronald Weasley, who I will be hunting down and making mine this year, I could care less what Hermione Granger does or doesn't do."

Rolling her eyes at the mention of Ron, Parvati informed her quietly, "I do believe he already has his eye on Hermione." Lavender scrunched up her nose, giving the other girl a glare. "I'm only trying to keep you from unnecessary disappointment. Padma said that at the Yule Ball, he was really rotten to Hermione not to mention a totally rotten date. She thinks it's because he was jealous that Hermione went to the Ball with Viktor Krum. You had to have noticed the ruckus because Ron sure did make a scene."

Lavender was not going to tell her that she hadn't noticed because she was outside with Seamus snogging him within an inch of his life. He hadn't been all that great at it but after she'd done some serious tutorial, he'd improved significantly. Instead she muttered, "I guess I was still dancing or something and missed it."

The other girl snorted. "You weren't," she stated with certainty. "I checked the dance floor and you weren't anywhere to be found."

"Was that a test," Lavender asked crossly, tossing the magazine aside with a miffed expression.

"Sort of," Parvati admitted, chin resting on her raised fists, elbows making slight indents on the coverlet. "Soooo," she began in sing-song fashion, "where were you and who were you with? Seamus, right?! Had to have been since he was your date."

"Yeah," Lavender said with little inflection to her voice. "I thought I owed him a bit of snogging since he did ask me to the Ball."

Frowning, Parvati exclaimed, "You didn't owe him jack-shite. I mean, yeah he was your date but that doesn't automatically equal up to a make-out session. Was he being pushy?"

"No," she quickly assured her angry friend. "I'm the one who pulled him outside." Parvati's dark brows flew high. "That right there, that look is why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd be all judgmental about it when really I was just trying to keep my skills sharpened."

"By snogging Seamus?!"

The incredulity in Parvati's tone made Lavender smile. Turning on her side, she said, "Of course. Not only did snogging him keep me from getting rusty, but it gave him a chance to test out his own skills."

"And..."

Grimacing, Lavender wrinkled her nose and said, "Let's just say his technique could use some honing. No worries, though. I worked him over good and that boy not only left with a huge grin, but now he knows how to use his tongue. He was a right wet eel until I showed him how it's done."

"Aren't you worried about your reputation," Parvati asked with a touch of awe.

"Not particularly," Lavender replied with a small shrug. "I have no interest in keeping with a ridiculous double standard which says wizards are to be revered for gaining sexual experience while witches are labeled as slags if they indulge in a bit of snogging and petting."

"But, you're barely fifteen, Lavender," Parvati gasped.

"I haven't had sex, you nit-wit! I've just done my fair share of snogging and a bit of touching over clothes," she exclaimed calmly and clearly. "You're going on as if you're completely innocent when I know darn well you've spent a fair amount of time with Michael Corner." Parvati blushed brightly. "You kept it private and I respected that, although you could have told me because _I'm_ not one to judge."

"Sorry," Parvati said. "I suppose I was worried if I told anyone, Padma might find out and tell our parents."

"Doubtful," Lavender remarked. Then followed it with, "She's far too busy studying. It would take a herd of Hippogryffs to get her nose out of her books. She's as bad as Hermione."

As if speaking her name had conjured her out of thin air, Hermione walked back into the room towel drying her massive pile of curls, clad in her comfy clothes and looking much more refreshed. Once again the other two girls clammed up. Lavender spread the magazines out with a flourish, pushing several in her friends' direction in a silent but clear message that they should get on with their original plans of perusing the latest fashions and hair styles.

Hermione tried to run a brush through her unmanageable mane, but gave up after a few minutes. It was a pointless endeavor, and she wasn't exactly sure why she still tried to put it in order. She recalled how good it looked at the Yule Ball and, while she knew she'd never be able to duplicate the feat that Ginny's nimble hands and wand had produced, she was still willing give it a try. Maybe she'd ask Ginny how to get this mass of mess under control without a gallon of Sleakeazy potion.

Why in the world was she suddenly worried about her physical appearance? It wasn't like her to focus on such things, yet here she was wondering how to charm her hair into something sleek and shiny. Hermione was appalled at herself. Glancing over at her two roommates who were totally now engrossed in their magazines periodically commenting on this or that, Hermione took a moment to consider why she hadn't ever accepted their overtures of friendship; especially Parvati. If she had, maybe she'd be there with them now talking make-up and fashion. After all, it wasn't as if by doing so multiple brain cells would suffer from that sort of exposure.

Being super intelligent had been Hermione's main source of pride since she could read at the age of three. Her parents' had fostered her choice in expanding her ever growing mind at the expense of running and playing with other children up to a certain point. As she grew older, her parents began to worry that she preferred solitude and studying every book she could get her hands on instead of making friends. By the time she was eleven, all the kids in her class had participated in sleep-overs, and had fun birthday parties none of which Hermione had been invited to attend.

When Professor McGonagall had showed up on their doorstep with this news that Hermione was a witch, she uncharacteristically squealed in excitement. She wasn't an outcast. She wasn't a loser. She wasn't weird. She was a witch. She could do magic! She was special! She would be going to a place where everyone could do what she did! A place where she would be accepted instead of shunned! Somewhere literally magical and somewhere where she could form friendships with other magical kids! It was beyond Hermione's wildest wish! She'd nattered on asking a bemused Professor McGonagall question after question with nary an opportunity for her to answer the first before moving on to twenty or so more.

Yes, Hermione had been desperately hopeful only to discover that Hogwarts and its inhabitants weren't much different from the people in the Muggle world. The place was rife with prejudice in all forms with most of the supposed elite looking down their straight, narrow noses at her in disdain. So, Hermione had done what she'd always done when she was being made to feel inferior: she'd striven to be the best, the top of her class and made it a point to establish herself as the smartest Muggle-born witch there ever was. Her plan hadn't made her anymore popular with the other students. Fact was, many made snide comments calling her a swot, brown-noser, teacher's pet and so on. Basically, like when she was at a Muggle school with one difference; here all those nasty names were spoken in conjunction with the title of filthy Mud-blood.

She'd been hurt by it all but hadn't ever let it show. To do so would be a weakness and Hermione would not show weakness around these inbred, incompetent nincompoops. But then she'd made friends of Harry and Ron. It had all happened accidentally, but it had happened. The boys had basically saved her life and in return, when the opportunity presented itself, she had helped free Sirius from his prison cell. Harry admired her intellect while Ron continued to be an utter bozo; teasing her relentlessly and not always in a friendly fashion. Hermione let it slide for the most part because it was Ron; enough said.

Ron. He had been being a horrid friend to both of them lately. Not that he'd ever been all that great to her to begin with. No, it had been Harry that the red-head had been intent on getting close to right from the very start and Hermione had been an added necessary evil because Harry refused to leave her to her own lonely devices. She loved Harry; truly she did, but great Merlins fuzzy, white beard, he was a lot of work. Worth it of course, but still… a lot of work! Perhaps she needed to cultivate a few new friends. Broaden her horizons somewhat.

Eyeing the reclining girls, caught up in whatever they were looking at, Hermione speculated that while Lavender would be an annoyance with her non-stop, idiotically enthusiastic ramblings on boys and the latest on clothes and make-up, Parvati was a possible candidate. True, those two were thick as thieves, but Parvati had to be in possession of a mind worth exploring. After all, if her twin sister had ended up in Ravenclaw where the brightest of the bright were stationed, then Parvati had to be intelligent as well considering they shared identical genes.

The Hat had wanted to place Hermione in Padma's House as well, but Hermione'd pushed, practically pleaded, to be placed in the House she knew she'd been destined for and she was thankful that the Hat had taken her choice into consideration. In Gryffindor, she was in the perfect position to help Harry. Besides, not caring what other people here thought of her was a brave as you could get even though it did sting every now and again.

Indecisive consternation had her falling back into the bad habit of biting her lip. Oh, what the hell. Hermione finally threw caution to the wind and approached the oblivious girls. It took her clearing her throat rather loudly several times before either one noticed her standing to the side of the bed.

She suspected that Lavender had heard her just fine but chose to ignore her while Parvati, clearly engrossed in their activity, finally turned her head and asked, "Alright there, Hermione?" While Lavender just turned her blond head and gave Hermione a frosty, uninviting frown.

Clearing her throat again, Hermione awkwardly inquired, "I was wondering… uh, if I could perhaps join you?"

Lavender's jaw dropped, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Hermione couldn't really blame the other girl because she hadn't made any sort of previous endeavor to deepen the relationship with her dorm-mates. Truth was, Hermione hadn't had any girlfriends growing up, so this was a totally new experience for her. Ginny was proving to be somewhat of a friend, but the younger girl was wildly popular. Since Hermione wasn't one to fight for someone elses' time, she generally disappeared into the background whenever Ginny's other friends sought her out.

Parvati's reaction was quite different from Lavenders. Dark eyes glowing with pleased astonishment, she exclaimed excitedly, "Of course!" Scrunching over, she made a space for Hermione on her other side, patting the area with a beaming grin.

With a tentative smile of her own, Hermione lowered herself onto the bed, making herself comfortable as Parvati slid the magazine over slightly so that all three girls could see. Rolling her eyes while letting out a beleaguered sigh, Lavender said, "We were discussing the differences between the designs of Calvin Klein versus Betsy Johnson, but I don't suppose you know anything about it."

Hermione tried not to be offended by Lavender's snooty statement and she saw Parvati give her friend a sharp poke in the ribs which made her more determined to get to know the other girl better since she seemed inclined to pull her friend to heel whenever she got nasty to Hermione.

"That's true," Hermione informed them quietly, ignoring Lavender's triumphant smile before saying with no measure of smugness, "But my parents do know Vera Wang."

"No way,"Parvati gasped.

Nodding, Hermione went on, "Her husband Arthur Becker sold my parents the real estate where they built their Dentistry business and they've been good friends ever since. Not that we rub elbows with them on a regular basis, but whenever they're in London, they call on my parents."

Lavender's expression visibly softened before she handed Hermione another magazine she'd been holding and asked avidly, "What are they like? Does your Mum get a discount? Have you ever been to one of her fashion shows?"

Hermione settled in, answering their questions while pointing to specific pictures, explaining in detail the differences in style, silhouette, texture and materials used by several prominent figures in the Muggle fashion world.

* * *

"Exactly how long are you going to sit here and brood, mate because I've gotta tell you that it's getting old rather fast."

Ignoring Scott's exasperated question, Cedric slammed the book shut that he hadn't really been reading. "I've got a lot on my mind what with the Tournament and all."

Scott looked at his best mate with a skeptical expression before asking shrewdly, "That's not all though, is it? Some witch has your wand in a twist, right?" When Cedric's glance became evasive, Scott continued, "I know it's not Cho because right after she dumped your arse, you were fine. Not in the least bit mopey or glum, like you have been recently."

Cedric snorted. "Cho did _not_ dump me. It was a mutual decision to be just friends. She's great and all, but we really didn't have much to talk about other than Quidditch and as much as I love the game, there's only so many hours in the day to discuss it before it becomes boring."

Shrugging, Scott replied laconically, "So what, it's all about the snogging, isn't it? What's talking to a girl got to do with anything? Cho's gorgeous and from what I've heard, she's pretty damn good in the snogging department."

Cedric smiled before saying, "Yeah, she's got that part of a relationship down for sure, but even you have to admit there's more to it than that. Common interests are as important too. There's got to be a meeting of the minds as well. Ideally, several aspects should line up, but not perfectly because one partner should challenge the other to grow beyond their present dimensions, and while I really liked Cho, she didn't give me that."

"Little too deep for me, that." Scott chortled. "If it isn't Cho, then it's got to be some other bird because this is how you get when you're all wound up about one: Moody. Distant with your mates. Can't concentrate on your school work let alone the Tournament and make no mistake, you need to focus on the next task and do Hufflepuff proud!"

Cedric brushed off Scott's concerns by confidently stating, "I already have the Bubble-head charm mastered, so there's no worry on that score." Giving his friend a serious stink eye, Cedric continued coldly, "Speaking on the Tournament, I've asked you all time and again to stop wearing those 'Potter Stinks' buttons! It makes our House look petty and mean and that's not the kind of image we want to present; we're better than that and certainly way better than Slytherin who is also sporting them on their robes!"

"Listen," Scott began with a frown, "Potter deserves all the kickback shite he gets for managing to put his name in the Cup. _You're_ the rightful Champion, Ced and as your house-mates, we're supporting you by wearing the badges."

Cocking his sun-kissed head, Cedric said earnestly, "I don't think he did put his name in the Cup. If you think about, it makes no sense whatsoever and how _did_ he do it? He's a Fourth Year for Merlins sake!"

"I'm thinking he had help," Scott rebutted sharply. "That Granger girl seems to know her stuff. All those hours spent in the library must have paid off, everyone knows she's way ahead of her Year as far as magic goes, so it stands to reason that she found a way to help him do it."

Shaking his head vigorously, Cedric stated emphatically, "There is no way that Hermione would do that! Yes, she's as brilliant as they come and I agree that magically she's ahead of her classmates, but she's intrinsically an honest person!"

A highly arched brow greeted Cedric vehement defense of the younger witch. " _Hermione_ ," Scott queried, suspicion written all over his handsome features. Cedric could feel the warmth climbing up his neck, but refused to lower his gaze. Suddenly, Scott's blue eyes widened to comic proportions before her breathed incredulously, "Holy shite! Granger's the girl you're gone on!"

Cedric's blush deepened, but instead of verifying his friends' statement, he reiterated with firm conviction, "She wouldn't ever do that, Scott. Sure, Potter's her best mate and she'd do everything in her power to make sure he gets through the tournament in one piece, but she isn't a cheat! No one is going to convince me that she somehow helped Potter with the Cup! I honestly believe he didn't put his name in, and by wearing those blasted badges you're all giving everyone in the school the impression that I do! It's right embarrassing!"

Slumping in the couch, eyes glued to the ceiling of their common room, Scott whispered again as if not hearing a word that Cedric had just said, "Granger. _Granger_. Unbelievable! I can't even…" Shooting straight up, Scott glared at Cedric and demanded, "How long has this been going on? Come on! Out with it! How long has Granger been seducing you into supporting Potter?!" Ignoring Cedric's thunderous expression, Scott continued snidely, "She sure is making her rounds with the Champions. First Potter, then Krum and now you! Wonder how long until she has her way with that French girl? Potter's slag must be a really spectacular shag to make all of you so gone on her!"

Stunned silence sat heavily between the two friends, before Cedric finally managed through tightly gritted teeth, "If you weren't my brother in every way but name, you would be on the receiving end of a sound thrashing, and if you go about spouting this asinine drivel and slander Hermione's good name, you will be! I am _not_ shagging Hermione and she has _not_ seduced me, you blithering idiot."

Crossing his arms over his heaving chest, Scott asked with rough asperity, "Then, explain to me how she's even on your radar, Ced. I've never heard you mention her, not even in passing. Other than knowing what the entire school already knows about her, she's a total non-entity in our sphere of existence. She's a relative nobody, so yeah, explain how you appear to know so much about this particular witch at this particular time because it all seems a tad sketchy to me."

Cedric took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering, "It was after the Yule Ball. Weasley was being a total dick to her and I just thought I'd try to make her feel better."

"And the fact that she looked an absolute stunner that evening had nothing to do with you approaching her, I suppose." At Cedric's baffled expression, Scott snorted loudly. "Granger might not be traipsing amongst our circle of friends; but even that bloody git Malfoy couldn't keep his eyes off of her when she came down the staircase and entered the Ball with Krum."

Clearing his throat nervously, Cedric said truthfully, "Yes, Hermione looked amazing, and as a bloke there was no missing that, but that honestly wasn't the reason I started talking to her. I overheard some really ugly stuff coming out of Weasley's mouth and Potter just stood there. He didn't defend her or anything! I couldn't believe it and she was _cryin_ _g._ That little, overly freckled twat ruined her whole evening and she was having such a good time."

"You always were a chivalrous bloke, crumbling at the sight of a pretty girl with tears on her face," Scott conceded with an amused grin. "Still doesn't explain how you got on such a personal footing with her though."

"Well, I walked her back to her House since Krum's Headmaster made him leave to go to the ship before he could do it and we talked the entire way there and I discovered that she really is something special, Scott. Not only is she brilliant, but she's loyal and kind and very very interesting. I could have stood outside that portrait and conversed with her until the sun came up."

Scott took in his friends' smitten expression, letting out a hefty sigh, he asked, "You're going to pursue this, aren't you?"

With a fiercely determined set to his jaw, Cedric announce stoutly, "You better believe it! I have to, otherwise I'll regret it. I only hope I haven't cocked it all up."

Intrigued, Scott queried, "How'd you manage to do that? Thought you said things went well when you took her back to her dorm."

"It did… But… Well… You see… I …. uh…. I… ummm…."

Rolling his eyes, Scott huffed impatiently, "Just spit it out, will ya?"

"I didn't mean to frighten her," Cedric began, hesitating before going on."I know for certain that she doesn't have much experience and I think I might have gotten carried away when I kissed her." Scott frowned. "Not, not after the Ball. I mean, I wanted to but she was still seeing Krum. Then, much later she told me they weren't dating when we found ourselves in a sort of unusual situation. I'm not going into details," Cedric asserted strongly when Scott opened his mouth to ask the question. "I'll just say that it was unusual circumstances which brought us to the same place at the same time and I took advantage of the opportune moment."

"I'm still struggling to see the problem. So, she wasn't into it, big deal. Half the girls in Hogwarts would give their eye-teeth for the opportunity to snog you and you're worried about one lousy kiss with a witch who seems to not appreciate your attentions?"

"It wasn't like that," Cedric exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "She kissed me back. I mean _really_ kissed me back. It was… something." Cedric's mouth curved into a reminiscent smile, then he said dreamily, "It was like being grabbed by the Whomping Willow and whipped around hard and fast to the point you didn't know where the sky or the ground was because you were trapped in the center of everything and nothing; one massive blur of broken images. Heart racing wildly, head spinning dizzily, exhilaration coursing through your veins, breath swooshing crazily until your lungs felt like they were going to burst… Caught between extreme fear of falling and bashing your head and excitement so great that you never wanted it to end."

For a few seconds the only sound in the room was the soothing, rhythmic ticking of the clock, then Scott whistled low and long before saying with a shake of his head, "Mate, you are beyond fucked."

Sounding glum, Cedric mumbled, "Tell me something I don't know."

* * *

 **FYI: I know nothing about the fashion world or the designers named other than what I got from Wikipedia.**


	4. Chapter 4

Of Hexes and Hellions

"Um, Ron," Harry began, hesitant to disturb his friend who was eyeing up the wizard chess board with an intensity usually reserved for food.

A distracted grunt greeted Harry's query, Ron's total absorption geared to his next move. It wasn't much but it was way better than the sullen silent treatment he had been getting. Truth was, since winning his egg, Ron had thawed quite a bit, and he had been the one to tell Hagrid about the dragons, so yeah, things had been much better except for maybe at the Yule Ball when Ron had balled out Hermione for no real good reason.

He should have stepped up and defended her, Harry knew that. But he and Ron had barely mended fences at that point. Fearing the loss of the other boys friendship again, much to his shame, Harry had remained silent; then beat a hasty retreat when all had been said and done between the other two. Now, he noticed that Hermione had been different since that night, and Harry was now worried about losing his female best friend.

"Listen, I know you've been busy with this game and Seamus has really been giving you a run for your money, but I really need to talk with you."

Ron chewed absently on the end of a sugar quill which funnily enough were Hermione's favorite treat and he hoped by all that was holy that he hadn't raided her secret supply or there was going to be hell to pay and this time, Harry was going to stand by Hermione.

Exasperated, Harry exclaimed louder, voice filled with slight censure, "Ron!"

Harry's sharp tone was successful. Ron started slightly, sugar quill drooping over his bottom lip. "What?" The other boy asked crossly, brow scrunched into a dark frown.

"I'm worried about Hermione," Harry explained patiently. At the mention of her name, Ron's frown deepened into a fierce scowl. Sighing, Harry continued, "You need to let this whole Yule Ball thing go already! Hermione was perfectly within her right to go with Krum; he did ask her and we were total gits for even thinking she might not have a date and then asking her as a last resort! We were in the wrong here, not her!"

Sputtering, Ron growling angrily, "If it weren't a problem why'd she keep Krum a secret from us, huh? She knew it were wrong, that's why! Fraternizing with the enemy was what she was doing! Using her for information was what the slimy git was trying by asking her! It were that or he was hoping for a quick shag!"

It was Harry's turn to frown, fists balled at his sides. "You better take that back, Ron! Right now! With how you hero-worshiped the bloke, you were more likely to shag him than Hermione! She's our best friend and, if we were too blind to see how pretty she is, that's on us and there's no need to go about slandering her good name because you didn't get there first! You're being a massive arse-hole for no good reason at all! Now, take that back before I hex your bollocks off!"

Taking in Harry's murderous expression, Ron rightly decided to back down having a particular fondness for his balls. "Okay, okay," he began, holding his hands in front of him in a placating manner. "Hermione ain't like that, all right?"

"And?" Harry demanded, not completely satisfied with Ron's answer.

" _And_ , she wouldn't give Krum a leg-up by spilling information on you."

Placing his hands on his hips, Harry repeated, "And?"

Huffing, Ron added reluctantly, " _And_ , she's pretty and I shouldn't have used her as a last minute date expecting her to be free _and_ she had every right to accept Krum when he asked." The last was said with a mulish, sullen expression and tone.

Harry's brow cleared and then he said with satisfaction, "Now that that's cleared up, I would remind you that you do owe her an apology. One to her actual face."

"Right. Apologize." Ron agreed sounding morose. "Don't think she's gonna accept it any time soon though. Not with how badly I treated her."

"There's nothing for it," Harry said with an encouraging half-smile. "The apology is the first step and the incessant groveling that follows that apology might get you back into her good books sooner."

"I suppose," he muttered with little conviction behind the words. "Guess I can expect her to not go over my homework for quite awhile, but at least I haven't had to listen to her yammering about finishing my homework ahead of time."

Rolling his eyes, Harry realized that Ron was incapable of changing his ways to a certain extent. As for himself, he had learned that Hermione wasn't such a pain in the arse about homework once he actually made his own effort without counting on her to mend his mistakes and elaborate on his essays. After he'd started putting actual thought into it, he'd done rather well and flourished under Hermione's approval. Now that he and Ron were tight again, he was going to have to stick to his new routine regarding studying and homework and not allow Ron to side-track him.

Seating himself across from Ron, Harry decided to broach his actual point. "Something is up with Hermione. I'm not sure what it is, but I've noticed the change since after the Yule Ball. I'm worried about her."

"You think it's Krum," Ron asked. Then, with dark delight exclaimed excitedly, "We came take him, Harry. Maybe not separate but together we got this! I can distract him while you hex him until he can't think straight! That great old pumpkin head of his won't know what hit him!"

Amused and slightly alarmed by Ron's bloodthirsty suggestion, Harry remarked with certainty, "It's got nothing to do with Krum."

Ron's face fell in disappointment. "You sure?"

Harry nodded his dark, messy head. "Pretty sure. I don't even think they're together anymore." Ron's face brightened dramatically and Harry was hard-pressed to not roll his eyes again. "Remember when I served detention?" Ron nodded. "I asked Hermione to go to the Prefects bath to solve my egg for me."

Ron reared back in surprise. "You asked 'Mione instead of me?"

Harry went on without buckling under Ron's hurt expression. "Yes. She's the most brilliant out of all of us, so it made perfect sense to ask her seeing as how I couldn't go myself and, as Hermione has reminded me on numerous occasions, we were running out of time."

"Makes sense, I reckon," Ron allowed graciously, again to Harry's amusement.

"I never made a secret of Hermione helping me and if you had asked, I would have told you. Just because I didn't proclaim it from the towers of Hogwarts doesn't mean I'm embarrassed or ashamed that she's contributing. Besides, it was Hermione's idea to keep the knowledge of her participation in figuring out the egg to just the three of us, and if you remember, I did try to tell you but you were busy with other things."

Ron flushed hotly. He'd been following Fleur all over the place even after having been firmly put in his place by the French girl after asking her to the Ball. Ron put it down to the Veela blood and the fact that he was a hormonal teen-aged boy. He'd also been wrapped up in this frustratingly, challenging chess game with Seamus. The bloke had previously shown no real inclination to playing well. He'd also been spending a great deal of time searching for Scabbers, who Ron was sure had been devoured by Hermione's damn cat. It had all kept him unusually preoccupied as well as horribly out of the Harry-and-how-to-survive-the-Tournament loop of pertinent goings-on.

Hanging his red-head in shame, Ron muttered, "Sorry bout that, Harry."

"No worries, Ron," Harry assured him. "But, this isn't about that, this is about Hermione. I realize you've been…" Harry paused slightly searching quickly for a word that wouldn't open up a heated debate again "… _avoiding_ Hermione, but have you noticed anything off?"

Shrugging, Ron replied with nonchalance, "Not really. I mean, she hasn't been around much. Probably glued to the library like normal. I reckon, like you said, I've kinda had my mind on other things which didn't leave much time to keep track of Mione."

"That's the thing," Harry began slowly, "she hasn't been to the library in _days_." Ron's brows met the fringe of his poorly trimmed bangs. "I've been there myself and I thought she must be lost in one of the aisles because you know how she loses track of time and place when totally absorbed in her books." Ron nodded vigorously. "When I couldn't find her after searching for nearly an hour, I asked Madam Pince if she could point me in Hermione's direction and that's when I found out that she hadn't been there in days."

Spreading his large hands in a helpless gesture, Ron stated quietly, "It's strange for sure, but it's Mione, y'know? Probably a perfectly good reason as to why she hasn't been there. Maybe she's out trying to figure what to do for the next Task."

"Nope," Harry quickly inserted. "That's already done. The task is in the Black Lake and the champions had to find a way to breath under water for at least an hour and retrieve something of value before that hour is up."

Ron's jaw dropped and after a moment of stunned silence, ventured to say, "Oooh-kay, so I really haven't been helping out much, have I to have missed so much going on right underneath my nose?"

"No, mate" Harry agreed with a friendly smile. "You haven't been any sort of help at all, but I get it, so we're good."

"Sorry, Harry," Ron said, truly contrite. "From here on in, I'm your man. There's a heap of helping coming your way and at your disposal." Taking a deep breath, Ron continued sounding strained, "As far as Hermione goes, are you sure she's not off sneaking around with Krum?" There it was again, that small flash of something indefinable at the mention of Krum, but Harry chose to ignore it. "I mean, after the Ball she got all sorts of nasty letters and stuff. If I was her, I'd keep things under wraps after that."

Shaking his dark head, Harry stated with firm conviction, "I honestly don't think that's it. I've been racking my brain trying to suss this out and coming up blank. I mean, she seems to spend a lot more time in her dorm-room, so it got me thinking that maybe she's been sick or something. Truth is, I haven't got a clue and that is cause for concern because I think I have a pretty good handle on Hermione but this is just… I don't know… weird."

Ron opened his mouth to respond but was silenced by the sight of Hermione crossing the common room threshold with, of all people, Lavender and Parvati. While that was strange, it didn't even come close to the fact that she was giggling… _giggling_! Anyone who knew anything knew that Hermione Granger was not a giggler, so what in Merlins' hairy balls was happening here?! Hallucinating. Yeah, yeah… that must be it.

As the three girls came further into the room, Harry became aware of their presence taking in how closely they were clustered together, whispering and laughing with each other, and that wasn't weird _at all_. Turning back to Ron with a confused look, he whispered, "Um, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

The sugar quill had fallen onto the chess set, forgotten as Ron's mouth set into a wide O while his eyes were nearly bugging out of his face. "You mean I'm _not_ hallucinating," he asked, horror flashing across his stunned features.

Harry clammed up as the girls strolled by them, Hermione seemingly oblivious to her two best mates watching with matching expressions of stunned incredulity, then he heard Lavender proclaim just loud enough for both boys to hear.

"Can you believe it?! I mean honestly, Terry Boot must be out of his mind. Why in the world would he even try to corner Fleur?" Ron's complexion darkened to a brilliant red, remembering his own clumsy advances toward the older witch.

Then, Parvati explained quietly, "Cho told Padma that he was all set to snog her, lips puckered and _everything_ before Fleur started spouting something in French. I guess it was an incredibly strong hex because last I heard, Madam Pomfrey was _still_ trying to get his lips unstuck from each other! According to Colin, who was in the infirmary when Boot was brought in, the boils on his glued-into-a-puckered mouth were oozing green goo and Boot was groaning in excruciating agony! The best part is that Madam Pomfrey couldn't even give him a pain potion to ease his discomfort!"

"Wow," Hermione exclaimed, eyes wide with admiration for the Veela witches skill. "I wonder if she'd teach it to us? She must know some amazingly advanced spell-work, and that is the sort of hex every witch should know. I mean, some boys think they can go around forcing their attentions on any girl they choose regardless if the witch isn't willing."

Lavender nodded, then said sagely, "That's true." She hesitated before adding lowly, "It happened to me."

The other two girls abruptly came to halt, eyes as round as saucers, simultaneously gasping out a stunned, "No!"

A grimace settled on Lavenders pretty face, and even the two boys were taken aback by this news. "Yeah," she muttered, eyes downcast, a flush of shame filling her cheeks. "At first he was a gentleman and I was flattered that someone so good-looking would even consider me as girlfriend material; he was older too. Turns out he was only interested in getting into my knickers and grabbing at my breasts."

Shuddering, she went on to say, "It was ghastly. I mean, the snogging was nice but then his hands started to roam _everywhere_. I told him no, but he had me pushed against the wall with his body and one hand was crawling into the front of my shirt while the other was yanking my skirt up over my hips."

To the boys utter shock, Hermione bit out fiercely, "That bastard!"

Ron was tempted to call Hermione out on her language as she so often did with him, but Harry stepped on his foot, silently warning him against doing so. Harry was right, of course because when 'Mione got this het up, it meant one thing and one thing only. _Someone_ was really in for it!

"Thankfully, a Prefect was making her rounds and caught us before he could do anything else."

"Who was it," Parvati asked with a commiserating frown.

Licking her dry lips, Lavender finally volunteered, "Cormac McLaggen."

The girls took a moment to digest this information before Hermione asked, "When was this?"

"Last year," she answered, finally meeting Hermione's gaze.

Placing her hand lightly on the other girls arm, Hermione inquired gently, "Did you report him?"

Shaking her head in the negative, Lavender admitted in a choked voice, "No. I thought that maybe _I'd_ done something for him to think it was okay for him to be doing that; pushing me for more than I was ready to give. He said, that I shouldn't be flaunting my tits in tight jumpers and that when girls did, they were sending out an invitation to boys." A tear made it's way down her cheek, as she went on to say, "Then, he said I was the worst sort of tease and that witches who teased without following through, got bad reputations."

Through gritted teeth, Hermione announced passionately, "I'm going to make that prick regret ever laying a hand on one of my friends!"

Lavender let out a wet laugh while wiping her face, and asked, "Can I help?"

"Me too," Parvati piped in, aghast at what she'd just heard.

Through narrowed, glittering eyes, Hermione hissed, "Absolutely. I'll have to do some research. Maybe sneak into the Restricted Section." The other two girls shared an awestruck glance at Hermione's temerity. "There's bound to be a book or two on how to hand McLaggens' arrogant dick and cowardly balls back to him on a silver platter."

Lavender flung her arms around Hermione and whispered into her nest of hair, "Thank you! Thank you!"

Patting her back, Hermione answered in a soothing voice, "That's what friends are for, Lav."

"Come on, ladies," Parvati said while clearing her throat. "Let's go look through the new magazines that Hermione's mum sent and I've been working on some charms to help with that hair of yours 'Mione. I think we can get it under control without using a barrel full of sleakeazy, although it did look spectacular at the Yule Ball."

Cocking her head to the side, Parvati remarked with complete honesty, "You know, you're really quite pretty underneath all that hair and loose-fitting clothing, and regardless of what that oaf McLaggen says, it's perfectly fine for a witch to wear clothing that enhances her figure."

Harry and Ron watched the trio head up to their dorm. For quite awhile complete silence hung over the common room and then Ron reached out, grabbing Harry by the forearm, knocking over the chess pieces in the process and Harry's first that was that Seamus was going to be furious since this game had been going on for days and he was _winning_ for once.

"Harry, what the bloody fuck just happened," Ron demanded with a crazed look on his pale, freckled countanence. "That's not normal! Not for Hermione, least ways! What... what if it's some kind of imposter… you know, ummm… Polyjuiced, or something?!" Ron's voice rose alarmingly into a high pitched squeal. "Or… or maybe she's been _Imperioused_?!"

Although worried by the scene he'd just seen and agreeing with his friends analysis that what just happened was not Hermione-like behavior, Harry stated calmly and firmly, "Ron… take it easy, mate. Take a few deep breaths. Yeah, like that, that's good." After Ron had noticeably calmed somewhat, Harry continued along the same moderately toned vein, "I highly doubt that Hermione's Imperioused or a Polyjuiced impostor while the real 'Mione is locked up in a closet or chest somewhere. No offense mate, but that suggestion is kind of barmy."

Flapping his arms around wildly, Ron demanded in exasperation, "How do explain that, then? That was wrong on so many levels!"

"Yeah," Harry agreed readily enough. "It was sorta odd."

"Odd? _Odd_?! That was downright …. well, I don't think there's even a word for what that was!"

Harry cracked a small smile before saying with shrug, "Girls. Who can figure 'em?"

Nonplussed by Harry's comment, Ron took another breath then let it out in a great whoosh before finally saying, "Ain't that the truth. Y'know, I reckon I've always thought that 'Mione was both brilliant and scary, but just now… she was downright horrifyingly nightmarish."

Nodding, Harry said with more equanimity than he was feeling, "I sure am glad my names' not Cormac McLaggen."

Harry, who had first-hand knowledge of the mysterious fate of Rita Skeeter, found himself feeling a twinge of reluctant sympathy for the older wizard because incurring the wrath of Hermione Granger was as homicidal as it got.

Looking down at the board perched at his knees, Ron let out a groan. "Crikey, Seamus is gonna have a right fit when he sees this."

* * *

Cedric's day was sucking big time. He'd overslept this morning because last evenings sleep had been as elusive as Luna's Bracklespots or Brackleworst or some other such nonsense. He liked Luna well enough having been neighbors since birth, but she was a might bit touched in his opinion. Because of oversleeping, Cedric had missed breakfast and the chance to see Hermione and speak to her.

He'd tried lingering outside the portrait leading to her common rooms, but the Lady recognized he was not of her House and questioned his continued presence. Cedric had been far too embarrassed to say that he was waiting for a girl and instead made the stupid remark that she looked as if she needed company.

That had set off an interminably long one-sided conversation that had Cedric bored to tears within the first ten minutes of the Lady's monologue. After regaling him with her extensive and colorful history, she'd begun to coo and bat her eyes at him in a flirtatious manner which had been beyond creepy. As soon as it was politely acceptable, he'd made his escape.

Searching the library had been a bust. Surprising since it seemed to have been a haven of sorts for her. By his recollection, she wandered the premises even more than he tended to do and that was really saying something. Even more surprising, Cedric had seen Potter speaking with Madam Pince although he hadn't been near enough to listen in on their conversation. He'd been hard-pressed to remember the last time he'd seen Potter in the library, so his presence had been curious.

Cedric had even tried the kitchens. Alas, to no avail. He did stay long enough to enjoy a few sandwiches and a steaming cup of Earl Grey before setting off on his manhunt – er, woman-hunt – once more. Perhaps she'd decided to take a stroll by the lake? He wondered if she'd mastered warming charms yet, because it was quite chilly and to venture out in such weather was just asking to catch a cold, or worse.

Now, he'd been waylaid by an infatuated fellow Hufflepuff, Megan Jones. Ever since word of he and Cho ending their 'relationship', witches – and even a few wizards – had been coming out of the masonry and placing themselves ostentatiously in his path. It was right annoying especially when the one witch he wanted to find in his path was nowhere to be found!

As Jones yammered on and on, Cedric nodded in all the appropriate places, responding with the occasional 'really?' and 'you don't say' to break things up a bit. Manners were paramount; least-ways that's what had been pounded into him by his mum. Walking off from Jones mid-sentence would have gotten back to her for sure through the ever-flowing grapevine of Hogwarts. Not only that, but Jones' mum knew his, so yeah… there was no fobbing off this annoying, cloying bint anytime soon. Being a gentleman could be a real bitch.

As he was, once again, making some sort of inane noise in recognition of whatever idiocy Jones was spouting on about, Cedric caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye of a familiar shape and face. Granger was whizzing down the corridor, her pretty features set with a ferocious expression; her slightly dimpled chin thrust out at a determined angle. Here was a woman on a mission, and Cedric found this aspect of her utterly breath-taking.

Cedric was torn. Stay and listen to this unremarkable girl go on and on as manners dictated, or do what he really wanted to do and call out to Granger and stop her before she slipped away. What to do? What to do? The decision was taken out of his hands faster than a Nimbus 2000 when the beautiful bookworm breezed past them with nary a glance in their direction.

Frustrated, Cedric turned toward the older girl whose sentence sputtered to a halt as she took in the ice cold anger reflected in Hogwarts most sought after wizards' gorgeous grey eyes. Without further ado and casting all propriety aside, Cedric stated with unconcealed impatience.

"Piss off, Jones."

Having stunned her into silence, Cedric took the opportunity presented, turned his back on the gaping Fifth year and trotted down the hall after the flying figure of Hermione Granger.

* * *

Hey there, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and if you do, it would be lovely if you would leave a review no matter how small since hearing from the readers makes writing easier and brightens the writers day!


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